And Down the Stretch They Come...
Posted March 2, 2008, 11:40 AM ET

One week to go in the college basketball regular season, and the ACC looks to be perfectly positioned. It's down to Duke and North Carolina...and around these parts, that's the way it's supposed to be.

ACC basketball has been built by the greatness along Tobacco Road....N.C. State and Wake Forest have certainly had their glory days, along with the standard-bearing Tar Heels and Blue Devils. But since 1990, it always seems to come down to Duke and UNC.

There are two things in sports that I love on a consistent basis, and that would be SEC football and ACC basketball. Right now, it seems to me that the ACC part of this equation is very top-heavy. While Maryland added a national title this century, along with an appearance in the Final Four by Georgia Tech, the conference has turned into a two-headed monster wearing different shades of blue.

If you look at the standings this week, it's a no-brainer...Duke and UNC are tied with a classic winner-take-all showdown in Durham on Saturday night. But look a little deeper, and you'll find more of the same. I guess we shouldn't be surprised, because both Duke and North Carolina represent the best in college hoops: great players, teams, coaches and certainly rivalries.

Since the 1990 college basketball season, Duke and UNC have been ridiculously great in the league. I started figuring out some numbers and it becomes even more impressive what guys like Dean Smith, Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski have accomplished.

Since that 1990 season, Duke has 9 regular season first place finishes, UNC has 5. One of these teams will add another one to their list on Saturday night. Heading into the last week of play, Duke is 210-74 in league play over that span, while the Heels are 189-95. Those numbers are staggering. It's a testament to their greatness and total dominance over the remaining members.

Plus, once we get to the ACC Tournament, the numbers are even more impressive. Duke has made 11 ACC Tournament finals, winning 8 since the 1990-91 season. UNC has made 10 tournament finals winning 5 of them. Both schools have been eliminated in their tournament opener only four times apiece during this time period.

Duke and North Carolina have combined to appear in 55 ACC Tournament championship games. They've both won 16 conference tournament titles. To put it into perspective: the remaining 10 conference members have combined for 50 ACC finals appearances. That's total domination.

As I was adding up the numbers, I couldn't help but notice that Duke and North Carolina have nearly the identical overall record in the ACC Tournament: UNC is 80-37, and Duke is 80-38. Of course, it should be noted that Duke has accomplished something in the ACC Tournament that the Heels can't touch...the Blue Devils did win the tournament "Play-in Game" during the 1995 tourney. For the record, I added that win to Coach K's record, despite his back problems that year.

Duke has won 23 of their last 25 ACC Tournament games. Coach K has won 31 of 40 tournament games since the 1991 event. The Tar Heels are the defending ACC champs and will certainly like their chances of making it two in a row next week in Charlotte. Since the decade of the 90's, the Heels are an impressive 25-12. Even though Roy Williams called the ACC Tournament a "cocktail party" a few years ago, there is no doubt he and his crew will have their full attention on what awaits them in the Queen City.

But as we head into the final week of the regular season, Duke and UNC find themselves looking eye-to-eye for the big prize. Not only being the top-seed in the ACC, but more importantly, playing for a potential top-seed in the Eastern Regional. The reason that it is so big is because that particular team will have convenient road trips to Raleigh and possibly a return-trip to Charlotte when March Madness officially tips-off. Granted, teams like Tennessee and Memphis might play themselves into the equation as well...for the time being, it's all down to Duke and North Carolina.

Duke and North Carolina are neck and neck and battling for all the chips. The ACC couldn't have scripted it any better.